Dona Ana County inmate facing contraband charges

LAS CRUCES, N.M.—An inmate at the Dona Ana County Detention Center is facing more charges after allegedly trying to smuggle heroin and other contraband into the facility.

Jail officials say 33-year-old Anthony Ghalayni returned to the jail Thursday as part of his work-release sentence imposed for an aggravated DWI conviction.

A jail officer reported seeing Ghalayni remove a black casing from his body cavity, then clean it and put it in a soap box and hide it under his cell's mattress.

Authorities say Khalayni now faces criminal charges of possession of a narcotic.

They say he also faces disciplinary action for possession of tobacco and possession of a lighter inside the detention facility, making a false statement to officers, violating detention-center rules and violating his work-release conditions.